ABSTRACT ? LEADERSHIP, PLANNING AND EVALUATION As a NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duke Cancer Institute?s Senior Leadership is the central decision- making, institutional advisory body and is organized as a diverse and representative group that prioritizes and promotes research productivity, investments, recruitment, endorses interaction and collaboration, takes maximum advantage of institutional strengths, assures community involvement and fosters unique scientific opportunities through a robust committee structure. These activities are delineated in the DCI overall and disease specific strategic plans. The Executive Director actively seeks and fosters the opinions, feedback, guidance and advice from Senior Leadership, who have expertise in operational and scientific leadership to plan and execute priorities and initiatives. Strong guidance, vision and advice is provided by a senior group of external counselors (External Scientific Advisory Committee; Executives and Chairs from School of Medicine and Duke University Health System). All counselors are an integrated part of DCI?s planning process. Strategic planning and evaluation have been critical for the current systems reviews and future development of DCI. Ongoing planning, evaluation and guidance in all areas, are a major responsibility for the committees discussed and are essential to maintaining a steep scientific and operational excellence (performance driven, strategic and systematic processes) trajectory. Rigorous planning and evaluation is carried out on an ongoing basis through multiple internal and external mechanisms in all divisions of DCI. The DCI?s Executive Director synchronizes and has broad authority across leadership, strategic planning, clinical, evaluation, scientific, budgetary, outreach and administrative matters for the center. These priorities, investments and initiatives are codified in the DCI strategic plan.